


The Wrong Brother

by Higgies230



Category: Supernatural
Genre: College AU, M/M, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-19 22:57:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9464243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgies230/pseuds/Higgies230
Summary: Sam and Castiel are roommates in college which is rather awkward. The reason for this is that everyone knows the last name of their soulmate, Sam's is Novak and Castiel's is Winchester, and yet they feel nothing in that way towards each other.





	1. Roommate

  Sam rubbed at the name stitched into the skin on his wrist. _Novak_. That was the word, his soulmate's last name. When he'd gotten the name two years ago at the age of sixteen he had been relieved beyond belief. Novak wasn't exactly a Smith or Johnson where there were hundreds of people with that name. He had never even hear the name before the itching started and the black ink had slowly shown itself, becoming more substantial with each passing second. Now however... now he wasn't relieved or glad that that was the name he had.

  The reason for that was that he had just met a Novak. His roommate. Sam had shaken his hand, a guy with scruffy black hair and blue eyes. Shorter than Sam by a considerable amount but at a height that could be considered tall by normal standards. Nothing had happened.

  "Hey, I'm Castiel Novak," he had greeted. _Novak._

 __ In that moment, Sam's heart had stopped. Novak. Then he thought, shouldn't I be feeling a connection?  Then there was doubt. This guy was obviously not the only Novak out there.

  "Sam Winchester," he had replied with an unsure smile. Which fell from his face when Castiel's eyes widened.

  "Winchester?" he asked shakily.

  Sam gulped, if the guy had his last name on his body... it meant that there was next to no chance that he wasn't Sam's soulmate. But there was meant to be something there. In very lesson he had had about soulmates it made it perfectly clear that you would _know_ when you met your "other half", you didn't have to hear their name to know that they were the one, just one look was all it was meant to take. His soulmates teacher had found his soulmate when he was twenty, he'd described it as having a veil lifted, seeing the world clearer, feeling a bond between you and the other person as if there was some rope suddenly tying you together. All it took was a millisecond of eye contact.

  "Yeah, and you're a Novak," Sam breathed, heart racing a million miles an hour, unable to comprehend what was happening. How nothing actually had happened.

  "If we're... the names, mean we have to... why has nothing happened?" Castiel stuttered obviously following the same train of thought as Sam.

  The taller man just shook his head, as much at a loss as the other.

***

  Over the next few weeks, Sam and Castiel tried to get to know each other better. They had both reasoned that if they spent more time together then maybe the soulmate bond would kick in. They danced around each other, tension almost unbearable, and yet they both forced themselves to try. You only got one soulmate.

  In the end, after all those weeks, they gave in. There had been no difference on the soulmate front. Sam knew that Castiel was an art student and that his work was some of the best that the brunet had ever laid his eyes on. He knew that his roommate liked a variety of music, he came from a religious background but wasn't religious himself. He also knew that the other man was quiet and when he brought an art project back to his room he would loose himself in it, that he would be in a whole world of his own. He was also very polite.

  When they had decided to give up on the whole soulmate bond they were slowly able to relax around each other, discarding the thoughts that they were ever meant to be more than friends. It was easy as it turned out, without the soulmate bond it was so easy to pretend. Castiel's soulmate mark was on his lower back so Sam didn't have to see it unless the guy was getting changed, Sam on his part wore thick bracelets around his wrist, both for Castiel's peace of mind and his own. There was also the fact that they got on well, they could sit together in a companionable silence for hours, Sam reading up on law and Cas sketching or painting. Neither really went to nightclubs and neither were in the habit of bringing partners back to their room. All in all it was a comfortable existence. However Sam could never shake that one question: how was it possible for them to be soulmates?

  


	2. Wrong Brother

 Sam and Castiel had really settled down by the time six months had passed in college. They were friends, but not best friends, and really Sam couldn't hope for a better roommate than the placid, neat one that he had. He wasn't even in the room most nights now a days, mostly he was over at Jess' place. His girlfriend, a person that he loved more and felt a closer connection to than his supposed soulmate. But she wasn't his soulmate either and they both knew it, their relationship was more of a time fill, they both understood what would happen if one or the other found their soulmate. Although Sam already had it seemed.

  Things would seem to be working out from an outsider's point of view. He had an amazingly kind and beautiful girlfriend, a good roommate and good grades. His soulmate problem didn't screw with his life and he had his big brother as a shoulder to lean on. Dean had told him how to go about the whole mess, even if he hadn't found his soulmate yet either. Yet the advice the older Winchester had given him had been gold. Spend more time, try to build the bond, if not then just live in harmony. Work to make it a comfortable friendship. For a guy who was on a whole very emotionally constipated, Dean had a respectable knowledge of how people's emotions worked, even when he tried continually to stuff his away into the deepest, darkest hole as far away as possible from any kind of civilization ever. 

  The only thing was, and what an outsider would not be able to see, was the emptiness Sam felt. He, like most everyone else- including his big brother despite how much he might protest towards the contrary- had dreamed of the day that he would find his soulmate. He had never known whether they would be male or female, he found he had a liking towards both, and had never really felt that he had a "type". He had never known what to expect, all he knew- or thought he knew- was that when he met him or her they would be perfect. The fact that that wasn't the case, that he was in the 0.01% of the population that were incapable of forming bonds, left him feeling like he had a deep nothingness where once there was hope.

***

  Sam was sat cross-legged on his bed studying a textbook for his next class when Castiel entered the room. They had known each other for seven months and it had become a kind of routine to exchange an acknowledging "hey" when one or the other came back from class or whatever. Sam gave his half but his roommate just stood there looking nervously at Sam, wringing his hands.

  "What is it?" Sam asked curiously.

  "Um, well I have this brother Gabriel. He's been away in New Zealand for eighteen months and we haven't had much contact," Castiel told him.

  "Right," was Sam's reply, the Winchester not fully registering why that would cause this reaction.

  "Well, he came back two days ago and he... he called me yesterday. He asked how life was and all that and I... well I told him about you and the whole Soulmate mess. He asked what your name was, cause you know, it's not common practice to tell anyone about the name if they don't see it on your body. Anyways, um... well what I mean to say is, I told him it was Winchester and he said that was his soulmate's name too. Seeing as he's a Novak I thought that maybe you could be his soulmate not mine, well he thought that. So he's coming over tonight to say hey, test the theory."

  "You have a brother with the name Winchester?" Sam sat up straighter, he could feel hope rekindling in his gut," this may mean that things could work out.

  "Do you... do you have a brother Sam?" Castiel asked quietly.

  "Yeah... I do and I never told him what your name was, and I don't ever think he saw the name because I always wear these bracelets over it!" Sam huffed a laugh.

  He swung his long legs over the side of the bed and stood up, beaming at his roommate and maybe-not-soulmate, a matching smile decorating the other's face.

  "You are brilliant Castiel, we must just be the wrong brothers," Sam breathed.


	3. Gabriel

  As soon as he had finished his conversation with Castiel, Sam had grabbed his phone and called his brother. He'd sat on his bed as the phone rang, Castiel on his watching Sam with a mixture of excitement and fear.

   "Heya Sammy," Dean said as soon as he picked up.

   "Hey Dean," Sam replied somewhat nervously.

   "What's up? Haven't heard from you in a week," Dean said from the other side of the line.

   "Well, I wanted to ask you something."

   "Fire away Sammy, I'll answer if I can," came the reply.

   "Is your soulmate's name Novak?" Sam said after taking a deep breath.

   There was a long silence on the other end before Dean spoke, his tone smothered in suspicion," What makes you say that?"

   "Well mine is too, and my roommate's is Winchester but we don't have a bond, turns out that he has an older brother with the name Winchester too... So we think that this brother Gabriel may be my soulmate and that you may be my roommate Castiel's soulmate," Sam rushed.

   "Oh," was all that he got as a reply.

  "Well? Do you think you'd be able to come down and see if this is right? See if Castiel is your soulmate, Gabriel's coming tomorrow," Sam told his big brother, nerves crackling through his body.

   "Yeah... God if this guy could be my soulmate of course. But it'll have to be the weekend, work is full on at the moment," Dean replied, even over the line he sounded flustered.

   "Right, okay, see you Saturday then?"

   "Yeah Saturday," Dean replied before hanging up.

 Sam stared at the phone for a long while before he looked up at his roommate and friend. At his brother's soulmate? It was quite possible. It was actually very probable.

   "I take it that your brother has the name Novak then?" Castiel said, breaking Sam from his stupor. 

   "Yes, he says he'll be down on Saturday because work is busy," Sam told the other man.

   "What does he do?"

   "Mechanic by day, bartender by night," Sam replied.

***

  That night Sam couldn't sleep, he couldn't get the thought of seeing his real soulmate after loosing all hope that he'd have one with a bond. He was going to meet someone who could be the one that he was destined to be with...

  He'd always been somewhat of a romantic and so the idea of soulmates had always appealed to him, even if he had tried to hide it as much as possible from his brother. Dean had always said that if he found his soulmate then that would be nice but he would by no means spend his life looking over his shoulder for that man or woman as most of the world's population did.

  But in two days time Dean would meet his soulmate, because Castiel had to be his soulmate, and he would have his "nice". And Sam would meet his potential soulmate tomorrow at eleven the next morning in the cafe a five minutes walk from campus...

***

  Castiel and Sam entered the cafe just after half eleven because despite everything the two had finally fallen asleep and had subsequently overslept. Sam was nervous to say the least as they arrived, late, and looked around for Castiel's brother. His roommate had reassured Sam that Gabriel was often late and the guy would not judge them for that in the least. He'd then gone and taken that back about himself as he said that he was never late for anything and that Gabriel was sure to take the mick out of his tardiness.

  As they looked around the small establishment Sam felt the butterflies form and multiply in his gut. Then Castiel spotted him, elbowing Sam in the ribs and gesturing over to a short man with shoulder length dirty blond hair. Then he saw the eyes, Gabriel looked straight at him with the most gorgeous whiskey coloured eyes. In that moment he felt the bond that he'd always been told about snap into place. And everyone was right, there was no words that could describe it.

 


	4. Finally Whole

  For a moment he just stared across the cafe at the man, his soulmate... The man was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen, but then he supposed that he was meant to think that about his soulmate. He couldn't help it though. The bond he felt was incredible... It was the best feeling ever, like there had been something missing, some part of him, and now for the first time in his life he felt whole. 

  Gabriel smiled at him after what seemed a lifetime of staring, he gestured for them to come over before sitting back down at his table. It was on shaky legs that Sam complied, glancing back at Castiel briefly to see him beaming back. The younger Winchester took the encouragement, the pure joy that he saw on his friends face, and made his way over to his soulmate. His soulmate... He couldn't quite believe it.

  The man sat there, eyes flicking over Sam as he played with a chocolate bar in his hand.

   "Hey," Gabriel greeted weakly as Sam and Castiel sat down opposite him.

   "Hello," Sam replied, staring openly at the other man.

   "You know what," Castiel started, "I think I am going to leave you two to acquaint and catch up with you later Gabe."

   "Sounds good, thank you Cassie," Gabriel smiled over at his brother before his eyes flicked back to Sam.

   "See you Sam," Castiel said as he got up awkwardly and strolled out, giving the two one last glance as he left.

   "So... Sam Winchester," Gabriel smirked, leaning across the table slightly.

   "Hey, yep.. So Gabriel or Gabe?" Sam asked with a smile that was probably more than a bit goofy.

   "Whatever you want, I'll give you privileges as my soulmate," Gabriel told the other, drawing out the last word.

  Hearing Gabriel say it out loud seemed to confirm it, the word subsequently sending shivers down his spine. He looked over the other man, at the silver chain around his neck and the canvas jacket over the black shirt.

   "I have a suggestion Sammy, I can call you Sammy can't I?" Gabriel started, waiting for Sam's confirming nod before continuing," I think that we should each grab a coffee and go for a walk so that we can talk a bit without loads of people around."

  ***

  That's what they did. Sam and Gabriel left the cafe each holding a warm cup of coffee, walking close together. Gabriel walked along with a smooth confidence while Sam was a little more hesitant, still overwhelmed by the events. At having a soulmate, at having a soulmate where there was an actual bond unlike how he'd thought it to be with Castiel. Even as they strolled out into the midday sun Sam could feel the ghosts of emotions that were not truly his, even if they did reflect his own emotions.

  They walked quietly together, Sam trusting the much shorter man to lead the way. Despite having been on campus for more than six months, Sam hadn't really explored much outside of the high street which was why he was pleasantly surprised to find then walking towards a woodland area.

  As they reached the edge of the trees, Gabriel turned to Sam, "I hope you don't mind, thought we could go somewhere nice to get to know each other."

   "Sounds good to me," Sam replied shyly.

  The Novak smiled at the taller man and reached out, lacing his fingers into Sam's. The contact sent sparks running through Sam's body, for a moment they both had to stop as the sensation coursed through them both. As the feeling subsided somewhat Sam looked up, or rather down, at his soulmate, an ecstatic smile plastered on his face. He looked into the other's eyes and saw the same level of amazement and joy reflected back at him. They were both finally whole.


	5. Dean

  Sam and Gabriel had spent hours talking and just sitting in a small clearing in the wooded area that Gabriel had brought them to. Not once had they let go of the other's hand as they had walked along and not even as they sat, the contact just felt too good.

  Gabriel told Sam about his rather large family, "sisters and brothers pouring from his ears" as he said. He also said that his favorite brothers were his little ones Castiel and Balthazar. He was a business advertiser and ran a sweet shop on the side. He'd opened the shop a few years previously with his savings as he had somewhat of a sweet tooth. The man also enjoyed various televisions and writing. He liked to create worlds and, like Castiel, to joy in painting. The man also commented on Balthazar's fashion designer business and how the guy was more than slightly crazy.

   Sam told his soulmate about some factors of his life although he strictly kept his parents out of the picture, with his dead mother and alcoholic father. One day he would tell Gabriel but he didn't want to dwell on it when they were both so happy to have found each other. He instead talked about Dean, who he said they would meet the next day, and Bobby who he considered to be his dad. Who had taken more care of hi m in any case. Gabriel gave him a look when he dodged the question about his parents but, to Sam's eternal relief, he dropped it.

  In the end they had just sat there as the sun had dripped bellow the tree line and the shadows had lengthened. It was a good job Sam had no lessons that day- even if leave was allowed for soulmate unions.

***

  That night Sam had gone and stayed at Gabriel's hotel room. They curled up in the bed together, the smaller man's head tucked under Sam's chin, while Gabriel's arms were folded up against the Winchester's chest. For his part, Sam wrapped his arms around the other man contentedly under the blankets. Both of them wanted nothing more than to be in contact with each other, nothing more. They held each other, they didn't even kiss, the feeling ghosting through their bond said more than physical affection ever could. For the first time in forever Sam slept well, by the morning he'd not woken once and it was extreme reluctance that he got up at all.

***

  He was meeting Dean at the dinner at the other end of the high street to the cafe where he had met Gabriel. Sam had made the mistake of commenting on the quality of the pie there and so his big brother would have it no other way. Not that Sam minded.

  He'd returned to his dorm at ten, once he had finally dragged himself out of bed. Gabriel had insisted on coming with him, not that Sam was complaining one bit, because he wanted to spend as much time with his soulmate as possible and because he was interesting in meeting his favorite brother's soulmate. As well as his soulmate's brother... 

  The three were due to meet Dean at eleven and Sam assured them that Dean would be there. Anything that was important brought Dean on time, if not early. Their early life, moving around constantly, had taught them the value of haste.

  Sure enough, Dean was there as they approached. He had a paper plate of pie in hand as he leaned up against his Impala, enjoying the early afternoon sun. As soon as he sensed them approaching, he looked up, his green eyes locking with Sam. The older Winchester quickly placed the pie onto the car's roof and rushed over to hug his brother before even looking at anyone else. Sam could tell straight away that he was nervous.

   "Hey Dean," he greeted as his brother squeezed the breath out of him and he returned the favor.

   "Hey Sammy," he returned pulling away and looking nervously at the floor before he glanced up at Castiel who was watching him earnestly.

  Sam watched and he could practically see their bond form. Both of their eyes lit up and an amazed grin spread over his older brother's face, causing Sam to smile happily also. He glanced at Gabriel who looked at him at the same time, both of them grinned together before turning back to the joy that their brother's held- the joy that they had experienced just the day before.


	6. Perfect

 Despite his dedication to his job, Dean took soulmate leave. He rented a room in the motel down the road and came to see Sam and Castiel. Well mainly Castiel, or "Cas" as Dean had taken to calling him. The two often stayed at Sam and Castiel's dorm room in the evening while Sam religiously left to go with Gabriel to his hotel room. Things had never been better. Even when Sam told his soulmate about his dead mother, about his drunk father, Gabriel just smiled sadly and kissed him...

  Sam had never gotten over the initial thrill of kissing Gabriel Novak. It was always as good as the first time. The first time they had been sitting watching some TV drama in Gabriel's room when the smaller man turned to him. He wanted to "try something out". The smile he wore was nervous and joyful all at once as he slowly moved forward making his intentions perfectly clear as he slowly moved in for the kiss, giving Sam every opportunity to back away. But Sam didn't want to, why would he? And he didn't regret it. As their lips pressed together, as the kiss deepened and they explored each other's mouths, as Gabriel's hand wrapped around the back of Sam's neck and Sam wove his fingers into the soft golden hair of his partner.

  Everything was perfect. His soulmate, college, his roommate, his brother's smile every time he saw his roommate...

***

  Two years after Sam graduated, once he had his dream job as a lawyer and he was living in an apartment he and Gabriel had brought together, five years after they'd met... In that time Sam and Gabriel got married. They had invited the Novaks and Dean and Jess, Sam's closest friends from college. Sam didn't want John to be there, hadn't spoken to the man since he was eighteen and had left for Stanford. But on that day Sam didn't dwell on his father, or the absence of his mother...

  On his wedding day Sam was the happiest man alive. Gabriel's smile was pure joy, both made of Gabriel's and Sam's happiness. The people that surrounded them were the ones that they loved. Dean and Cas were Sam and Gabriel's best men respectively.

  Two years after Sam and Gabriel married, it was their turn to be the best men. Dean and Cas had put off the marriage because of some deep rooted fear of Dean's, that he wasn't worth Castiel, that the man would leave any day, a fear beaten into him by John. In the end it was Sam saying that if he wanted to marry Cas he'd better get on with it, he knew it was what Cas wanted, he knew that Cas would never leave him. And on the day that the two said their vows, Sam stood and watched as the last of Dean's fears washed away as his big brother took in the love that poured from Castiel.

  Everything was perfect.


End file.
